Local congregation votes to sell its Glorieta cabin

By RYAN CROWE/ Herald Special Projects Coordinator

Published 4:36 am, Tuesday, August 27, 2013

In an unanimous vote Sunday night during their regularly-scheduled business meeting, members of Plainview’s First Baptist Church voted to sell their 61-year stake in a soon-to-be former Baptist camp outside of Santa Fe, N.M.

The church approved a motion from a special committee to sell its cabin to the new owners of the Glorieta Conference Center, Glorieta 2.0, Inc. for $30 per square foot, or approximately $60,000.

In addressing the assembled members of the church, Minister of Spiritual Development and Leadership Ron Warren said the committee decided selling the cabin was in the best interest of the church rather than extending its current lease out then forfeiting the building in 12 years, or giving Glorieta 2.0 its building outright.

The church will make roughly $20,000 more than it would have under Glorieta 2.0’s initial offer, made earlier this year. The new owners decided to increase offers made to cabin owners following a July meeting with ministers such as Warren.

The money made from the cabin will be put into a reserve fund until a time the church can find a similar retreat area for members, Warren said.

The church had already stopped taking reservations for the cabin due to the impending sale of the property by the Southern Baptist Convention.

In taking the vote, Pastor Tim Morrow said he was saddened that the vote was necessary because the church had a lot of history with Glorieta. “It hurts, I know. But we’re going to move on. God has a plan,” he told the congregation.

“Very reluctantly I say the motion carries,” he announced after the vote was taken by a show of hands.

The next step for the church, Warren said, was to call a meeting of church trustees to legally send paperwork to Glorieta 2.0 announcing First Baptist’s decision. The new group had asked churches to let them know their intentions by a Sept. 1 deadline.

Warren said First Baptist will remove furniture, appliances and its guest book from the cabin by Dec. 1. but it is unknown what it will do with the items.

The transaction could be held up by a group of cottage owners who live at Glorieta full time. They have sought a cease-and-desist order to halt the sale from the SBC to Glorieta 2.0. Warren said the church will have to wait and see how the legal issues go. If the sale is ultimately held up, he said, it is unknown what will happen to the church cabin.

Wayland Baptist University, the other Plainview entity with property at Glorieta, is already looking to sell its cabin at the conference center.

The president’s cabinet of the university has made its recommendation to sell the cabin to the university’s 30-plus member board of trustees.

Since the next trustees meeting will not be held until after the Sept. 1 deadline, university Provost Bobby Hall said Wayland has made arraignments with Glorieta 2.0 pending its suggested outcome. Hall said he has heard of the pending legal motion, but the university’s plans have not changed.